Japan Cu Scrap Import Recovers while Export Stays Weak in September

Japanese cathode copper import was 2,499 tonnes in September, which downed by 44% from a year earlier and represented below 3,000 tonnes for the first time in a half year, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. Domestic demand for electrolytic copper stayed low mainly from electric wires and cables. Meanwhile, copper scrap import increased by 12% in September from a year earlier, which represented year-to-year plus for 2 months in a row thanks to the demand recovery from copper alloy fabricators.

Primary aluminium import downed by 34% to 113,677 tonnes in September from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the import kept above 100,000 tonnes for 3 months in a row and reached the highest volume since the bottom of February 2009. Aluminium alloy import decreased by 30% to 68,064 tonnes, which represented year-to-year plus for 4 straight months along the demand recovery from automobiles.

As to Japanese export of nonferrous metals, cathode copper decreased by 12.6% to 34,092 tonnes in September from a year earlier. This is the first year-to-year minus since September 2008. The main factor is that the export for China decreased by 4.4% to 17,889 tonnes. Copper scrap export represented year-to-year minus for 5 straight months, which decreased by 22.2% to 26,169 tonnes in September. The export for China declined by 21% to 24,068 tonnes.

On the other hand, aluminium scrap export represented year-to-year plus for 5 straight months, which increased by 50.7% to 9,316 tonnes in September. The export expanded by 45% to 6,531 tonnes for China and by 5 times to 1,678 tonnes for South Korea. Domestic demand for secondary aluminium alloy was strong in both countries and aluminium scrap was aggressively imported.